Home / Answers / Google profile
What is a geo-grid rank report?
A geo-grid checks your map ranking from many simulated locations across your service area - typically 25 or 49 points - and plots the result. It replaces a single misleading rank number with a picture of where you are strong and where you are invisible.
Why one rank number is useless
Local results depend on where the searcher stands. You might be first outside your own front door and nowhere three miles west. A single number reports one of those and hides the other.
Reading a grid honestly
Look for the shape, not the average. A tight green cluster around your address with red edges means you rank on proximity alone, and your relevance and prominence are not yet carrying you outward.
Compare month over month for the same keyword and the same grid size. Changing either makes the comparison meaningless.
What it is good for
Deciding where to publish an area page, spotting a competitor's stronghold, and proving movement to yourself before revenue catches up.
What it is not
It is a simulation, not a record of real searches. Nobody standing at grid point 17 actually searched. Treat it as a directional instrument, not a ledger.
The short version
- Typically 25 or 49 points across a defined radius
- Shape matters more than the average number
- Keep keyword and grid size constant to compare months
- It is a simulation, not real search volume
Related questions
How large should the grid be?
Match your real service area. A 3 to 5 mile grid suits a dense city; a rural business may need 15.
How often should I run one?
Monthly. Weekly produces noise that leads to bad decisions.
Can I run one myself?
Yes, several tools sell this cheaply. Building your own scraper breaches Google's terms.
Keep reading
How do you rank in the Google map pack?
Google weighs relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot move your customers closer, so the work is...
How do you measure AI visibility?
Four numbers: how many of your target questions name you across assistants, your position at multiple points...
Do location pages still work?
Yes, when each page contains something genuinely local. No, when it is one template with the suburb name...
Want this checked on your own business?
The free visibility check shows what AI assistants say about you today, where you sit on the map grid, and the three fixes worth doing first.
